Merchandise package and container therefor



E. KUGLER MERCHANDISE PACKAGE AND CONTAINER THEREFOR Aug. 27, 1963 Filed April 18. 1960 Rm mL 5 mwfl w WK L $4 Z M My 4 5B 5 and the front wall of the container.

secured together as by heat sealing along its opposite edges 7 United States Patent 3,101,887 MERCHANDISE PACKAGE AND CONTAINER THEREFOR Emanuel Kugler,.296 Hungry Harbor Road,

Valley Stream, N.Y. Filed Apr. 18, 1960, Sela-No. 22,880 4 Claims. (Cl. 229-62) invention relates to frnerchandise packages and containers therefor, and more particularly, tosuch packpack-aged in relatively'stiff cardboard boxes which were torn or broken to open. In many cases, the merchandise was then transferred from the original container into a separate dispenser from which the uni-ts could be drawn one at a time for use.

By my present invention, 1 provide ail improved merchandise package including a container constructed of ice A specific embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and is shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational'view, partly broken away, of a merchandise container in accordance with the present invention;

flexible material which isreadily useable as a dispenser.

As a feature of the invention, I provide a container having a closed gusset end and an open opposite end adapted to be closed after filling, a flap extending out-' wardly beyond the .guesset end along the rear side of the containerand provided'with an opening for hanging the container when filled.

The container is constructed from flexible materialand the gusset end may be provided with a readily severable tear line zone extendingin a direction across its width.

In its preferred embodiment, the container is formed from a single strip of flexible thermoplastic material such as polyethylene which is transparent and may readily be heat sealed where seams are necessary.

As a further feature of the invention, the container is formed of a strip of material which extends continuously to provide the rear wall and hang flap, the gusset end, The folded strip, is

throughout the length of the container body to provide side seams which include the side edges of the gusset. After the container is filled with merchandise through the open end opposite the gusset end, this open end is-closed as by heat sealing. As a further aspectof this feature of the invention, the hang flap is formed by extending the material beyond the back wall of the container and then folding it over upon itself so that the hang flap is formed of two plies of material; and these plies are secured together along a seam extending between the side seams and disposed slightly above the gusset end. The opening in FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 2 2 of Pro. 1;

ages including containersjfrom which units of merchan- FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is aperspective view of a merchandise package illustrating the container of FIG. 1, when filled, and broken away to illustrate a portion of the contents thereof.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, there is shown a containerconstructed of a single strip of flexible thermoplastic material such as polyethylene film, for example.

From one end, the strip extends upwardly to provide a rear wall 11 of the container. This portion of the strip extends upwardly beyond the upper end of the rear is then folded over as at 15 to define the top of the flap and extends downwardly to provide a front ply 16 of the the hang flap may of course be reinforced with a grommet or the like.

Actually, the severable tea-r line zone referred to here inbefore is preferably provided in the closed gusset end of the container and extends along the full width thereof. There has thus been outlined rather broadly the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better underf stood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, ad-

ditional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures for carrying out the several purposes flap. i

The gussetend of the container is formed by extending the strip downwardly as at 17 in front of the rear wall 11 and below the hang flap *14 to form the rear fold of the gusset. The strip is then folded as at 18 to provide the loweredge of the gusset, and is continued upwardly from the fold -18 to provide the front fold 19 of the gusset. The gusset is terminated by a fold line 20 defining the upper front edge of the container. As shovm in FIG. 1, the front fold 1 9 of the gusset is provided with a line of perforations 21 extending from side to side thereof for a purpose to be laterldescribed.

After the gusset end of the container is formed, the strip is further continued downwardly from the fold line 20 to provide a front wall 22.

The side edges 24 and 25 of the strip, are secured together as by heat sealing along the full length of the container, including the hang flap 14; and the plies of the hang flap .14.are also secured as by heat sealing along a seam 26 slightly abovet-he gusset end of the container. In sealing the side edges '24 and 25, it will be noted that the side edges of the extension or rear gusset fold -17 and front gusset fold 19 are also sealed in the seam thus formed, as shown in FIG. 3.

The hang flap 14 is provided with a central opening 27 which may be reinforced by a metal grommet 29.

To fill the container 10 with merchandise, the front and rear walls 11 and 22 are separated at their free ends and the merchandise, such as the paper napkins 3i) illustrated in FIG. 4; is inserted therethrough. The container may, of course, be inverted for this purpose, placing the open end thereof at the top. As the. napkins 3i? reach the gusset end of the container, the gusset rear fold 17 and front fold 19 are drawn apart and ultimately assume a substantially coplanar disposition to form an upper wall 31 (FlGg4); Since the side edges of the rear fold 17 and front fold 19 are sealed to the side edges 24 and 25 of the rear and front walls 11 and 22, the areas of the rear fold 17 and front fold 119 adjacent these side edges are auto- Thus, the merchandise is completely sealed within the container and is ready for shipment as a merchandise package. The hang flap may of course be folded down against the top :wall 31 prior to use of the container as a dispenser.

When it is desired to utilize the merchandise package as a dispenser, the same may be suspended by the reinforced hole 27 in the hang flap and the top wall 31 may be easily opened along the line of perforations 21, thus exposing the napkins for individual or plural removal as needed. I

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have contributed a merchandise container constructed of flexible material which is readily useable as a dispenser. It will also be appreciated that the container of the present invention may be constructed of a single sheet of such material and includes a closed gusset end, an open opposite end and a hang flap extending outwardly beyond the gusset end along the rear side of the container.

I believe that the construction and operation of my novel merchandise container will now be understood, and that the advantages of my invention will be fully appreciated by those persons skilled in the art.

I now claim:

1. A merchandise container comprising a body portion having a gusset closed upper end, an open lower end and a multi-ply hang flap extending upwardly beyond said closed end, said container being constructed from a single strip of material extending upwardly to provide a rear wall of the container body and therebeyond to provide a rear ply of the hang flap, then folded over to define the top of the flap and downwardly to provide a front ply of said flap and therebeyond in front of the rear Wall to form a rear fold of the gusset, then folded to provide the lower edge of the gusset, thence upwardly to provide a front fold of the gusset, then folded over to define the upper front edge of the container and then downwardly throughout the length of the front wall of the container body, said gusset extending the width of said container and being positioned between said front and rear walls within said container, the folded strip being secured together along its opposite side edges throughout the length of the container body to provide side seams which include the side edges of the gusset.

2. A merchandise container as set forth in claim 1 in which the side edges of the folded strip are secured together the full length of the container including the hang flap and in which the plies of the hang flap are further secured together along a seam extending between the side seams and disposed slightly above the gusset top of the container body and the hang flap is provided with a reinforced opening therethrough.

3. A merchandise container comprising a front wall and an opposed rear wall attached together along the lengths of respective opposite side edges thereof to form respective side seams of said container, spreadable gusset means foldedbetween said front and rear walls extending the width of said container between said side seams and forming a closed upper end of said container, the respective opposite side edges of said gusset means being attached to the respective of said side seams, an open opposite end adapted to be closed after filling of said container, and a flap extending outwardly beyond said upper end substantially within the plane of said rear wall.

4. A merchandise container as set forth in claim 3, in which said closed end is provided with a readily severable tear line zone extending across the container width substantially adjacent said front wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,283,244 McLaren Oct. 29, 1918 1,623,107 Goodykoontz Apr. 5, 1927 2,406,791 Belcher Sept. 3, 1946 2,678,724 Andriot May 18, 1954 2,971,874 Canno Feb. 14, 1961 2,991,910 Coe July 11, 1961 

1. A MERCHANDISE CONTAINER COMPRISING A BODY PORTION HAVING A GUSSET CLOSED UPPER END, AN OPEN LOWER END AND A MULTI-PLY HANG FALP EXTENDING UPWARDLY BEYOND SAID CLOSED END, SAID CONTAINER BEING CONSTRUCTED FROM A SINGLE STRIP OF MATERIAL EXTENDING UPWARDLY TO PROVIDE A REAR WALL OF THE CONTAINER BODY AND THEREBEYOND TO PROVIDE A REAR PLY OF THE HANG FLAP, THEN FOLDED OVER TO DEFINE THE TOP OF SAID FLAP AND DOWNWARDLY TO PROVIDE A FRONT PLY OF SAID FLAP AND THEREBEYOND IN FRONT OF THE REAR WALL TO FORM A REAR FOLD OF THE GUSSET, THEN FOLDED TO PROVIDE THE LOWER EDGE OF THE GUSSET, THEN UPWARDLY TO PROVIDE A FRONT FOLD OF THE GUSSET, THEN FOLDED OVER TO DEFINE THE UPPER FRONT EDGE OF THE CONTAINER AND THEN DOWNWARDLY THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF THE FRONT WALL OF THE CONTAINER BODY, SAID GUSSET EXTENDING THE WIDTH OF SAID CONTAINER AND BEING POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID FRONT AND REAR WALLS WITHIN SAID CONTAINER, THE FOLDED STRIP BEING SECURED TOGETHER ALONG ITS OPPOSITE SIDE EDGES THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF THE CONTAINER BODY TO PROVIDE SIDE SEAMS WHICH INCLUDE THE SIDE EDGES OF THE GUSSET. 